Episode 5
Seen but not Heard
Relinquished at birth and adopted as a “disabled” infant—deemed second-grade due to a misshapen head—she grew up in a privileged but deeply dysfunctional family. Her adoptive mother, an alcoholic with unhealed trauma, offered little love or protection. From age eight, her older brother sexually abused her for years, even during family camping trips. When she cried out, her parents told her to be quiet. At 50, she finally found a therapist who understood adoption trauma—and recognized her chronic anxiety and PTSD as rooted in early abandonment and ongoing abuse. Her mother, dying in her arms, dismissed her disclosure of incest, saying she thought the siblings were “in love.” Now a grieving mother herself—her daughter lost to cancer—she speaks anonymously to expose the hidden pain behind “perfect” families. Her story is a piercing reminder: silence, denial, and the myth of the “lucky adoptee” leave wounds that echo for generations.
Narrator: Jennifer Byrne
Jennifer Byrne - JOURNALIST
Jennifer Byrne began her career in journalism at age 16, as a cadet at Melbourne's The Age newspaper. At age 23, she became the paper's San Francisco correspondent and later a feature writer.
Byrne's television work began as a researcher for This Day Tonight's Melbourne unit and later as a reporter for Nationwide. After returning to print media as assistant-editor of The Age's "Monthly Review", she moved back to television in 1982, on Nine Network's Sunday program. On Sunday, in 1985, she won a Logie for her story on Paul Keating's tax summit. From 1986 to 1993, Byrne worked on the Nine Network's current affairs program 60 Minutes. She has also presented ABC TV's Foreign Correspondent. In 2005, Byrne narrated the ABC mockumentary television show We Can Be Heroes. Starting in 2006, she hosted First Tuesday Book Club, a panel book review program, alongside regular commentators Marieke Hardy and Jason Steger on ABC. The series was later renamed The Book Club and concluded in 2017. A spinoff series of specials from this program is titled Jennifer Byrne Presents.
In the mid-1990s, Byrne worked as a publishing director at Reed Books. In 2008, Byrne joined ABC NewsRadio to work as a co-host during the evening drive slot (4–7 pm). In recent times, Byrne has been a regular panellist on Network Ten's The Project and has guest starred on an episode of Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation.
In 2019, Byrne began hosting the Australian version of Mastermind and its celebrity edition. She currently is the voice of 10 News First, doing the voiceovers for bulletin intros and promotions.